Tennis and Boys
by Sleepy.Beyond.Reasoning
Summary: Entering high school Sakuno never imagined it'd be so confusing. Between tennis, school, and boys the entire girls' team is in a frenzy. Trying to find a balance proves especially hard for the freshman regular. Ryoma's back in town and Sakuno is suddenly feeling even more confused than ever. A story about the drama of high school. RyomaXSakuno OCxOthers
1. Chapter 1

My second try at something like this. Hope you like it. Props to my beta: Hana Hikaru!

**~"It's your freshman year and you're gonna be here**  
**For the next four years in this town**  
**Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say**  
**"You know, I haven't seen you around before"~ **

**Taylor Swift, Fifteen**

* * *

Sakuno whipped her racket at the oncoming tennis ball. It hit the ground then the wall, two others came at her and she repeated the same motion. Next to her, Aiko was returning the balls she was fed as well. Both girls were drenched in sweat as the hot sun beat down mercilessly at them. They continued to send back the shots until the whistle blew loudly, signaling the end of the round. Sakuno heard Aiko hit the pavement and turned towards the other girl, both of their lungs heaving spastically.

"God, this is horrible…" Aiko mumbled as she rolled over and began to redo her bun. She swiped the thick black hair off the back of her neck and tied it up tightly.

"Yeah, yeah it is…" Sakuno agreed huffing deep breaths. "Tsuruga-senpai said that Vice-Captain Watari does this to get rid of any "weaklings" though. I hope it doesn't last too much longer…school starts on Monday after all." The words brought a strange sensation of reality to the two freshmen. They were going to be in high school and once again they would first years, at the bottom of the food chain.

"What class are you in?" Aiko asked pulling her legs into a squat to stand up.

Sakuno stood as well and the two began the long walk to the water fountain. "1-2, Tomo's in 1-1 with Katsuo and Kachiro. What about you Aiko-chan?"

"1-2!" she grinned. The black haired girl glanced around at the other members of the team who were making a beeline for the fountain to get a drink and pick up their bags. "Where is Tomoka anyway? She didn't quit right."

Sakuno shrugged, "No, she told me she had to miss today because…she's babysitting her brothers." The lie was so obvious that Sakuno didn't even bother to try to cover it up.

Aiko snorted, "Her brothers are in sixth grade. What's she _really _doing?" They reached the water fountain and took turns taking a sip from it before starting on their way to the school gate to leave. Captain had already announced the time and meeting spot for tomorrow's practice before saying everyone was dismissed at the last whistle.

"Have you heard of Echizen Ryoma?" Sakuno asked nervously remembering the days back in middle school when she had fallen for the tennis prince. Just thinking about it made her uncomfortable. She had been awkward back in middle school and thinking of Ryoma made her remember how awkward and shy she was. She didn't like to think of herself like that anymore, she figured she was stronger now.

Aiko nodded and readjusted the glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose. "Back in seventh grade when I went to Yamabuki, Dan-kun mentioned him a few times. He's a big shot tennis player right?"

"Yeah, well anyway…after seventh grade he went back to America though he visited a few times to attend different tennis camps and tournaments, but apparently he's coming back to go through high school in Japan," Sakuno explained with a deep sigh.

"What the hell does that have to do with Tomoka?" Aiko snapped. Their walking paused as they waited at a stop light.

With all seriousness Sakuno faced her friend and said, "She's madly in love with him."

"Bahahahaha!" Aiko broke out into a fit of laughter. She didn't even bother to pay attention to where she was walking as they crossed the street and ended up tripping over the curb, falling. She laid there laughing for a good five minutes before she finally settled down enough to say something. "That's hilarious!"

Sakuno pulled her friend to her feet. "Stop laughing…she's really serious about it. That's why she went with Horio-kun and the others to meet him at the airport." They reached the neighborhood that Aiko lived in and began walking slower.

"That's so stupid. She should be way more focused on tennis if she plans on playing a real match this year," Aiko retorted.

Sakuno didn't reply though she agreed. If Tomoka was already missing practices because of boys than what would the regular season be like? They stopped in front of Aiko's house and the shorter girl gave her friend a quick word of goodbye before jogging to her front door. Sakuno walked the rest of the way home alone. All the talk of Ryoma and tennis brought back reminiscent memories.

She smiled to herself as she recalled the days when she and he would walk home together after practices. She wasn't completely sure how she felt about him now, but before she had been absolutely enamored by him. She'd even written him letters while he was in America for the first few months, he'd written her back a little, but eventually they lost touch. She didn't remember why exactly they had stopped writing, but suddenly Ryoma seemed more like a mentor than a crush. He was fascinating and intriguing… she stopped to think about it, realizing that the change within her occurred around eights grade. It was eighth grade when she determined she wanted to really begin to play to tennis. It was eighth grade when she fell in love with tennis and it was eighth grade when she fell out of love with the prince.

**~xXx~**

Estuko Aiko sat in her assigned seat, scanning the room. Sakuno was seated a row ahead of her with Horio on her right. She was all alone. "I'm all alone!" she moaned. "Why couldn't stupid Kachiro and Mizuno be in here? Damn, even Tomoka would be better than no one." Realizing she muttered that aloud she looked around fearfully before happily relaxing because no one noticed. She didn't normally make a habit out of audibly bemoaning her frustrations. She glanced over at the seat on her left with a little hope; maybe someone she knew would take that seat.

The first bell sounded loudly and their teacher took his place. "I'm Fuse-sensei, I'll be your homeroom teacher. Remember to sign up for clubs for the school year, there's a lot you can achieve just by joining a cause. To wrap it up, this week we will be holding nominations and voting for class representative. Have a good first day and—

A tall, dark haired boy walked into the room. Aiko could hear the girls around her sigh and the room quickly began to stir. The boy didn't seem to notice, he went up to Fuse-sensei and said something to him before sensei directed him to his seat. His seat was coincidently the empty one next to Aiko. She heard a girl behind her complain loudly, "I wish Ryoma-kun was sitting next to me!"

Her eyes widened and she stared at the boy on her left in surprise. After hearing so much about him, all the hype, the excitement, to be honest he was a bit of a dud to her. He noticed her staring at him and gave her a curious look. She shrugged in reply and the bell rang, first period began.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno hadn't really been surprised when Ryoma didn't notice her, but it was still a little off setting. She was really hoping that maybe, just maybe, he'd look at her. Say something to her. But of course that was just a fantasy, he wasn't the type of guy to behave that way. He was much too aloof for that type of behavior.

She pulled the racket from her locker. Aiko and Tomoka had already gone ahead because they were dying to see the line-up for the player shuffle matches for the regular positions. Sakuno had decided to lag behind and wait to read the line-up herself. The shuffle matches: single match-ups, two matches per person. Win both matches and you were a regular. Of course, for a freshman the first step was getting into the shuffle matches. There were only nine slots for the regulars, that was about twenty-seven girls, nine groups of three. There were 39 people on the team, 10 were freshman. It was an unlikely that any of those freshmen would get a chance to even be a regular.

Sakuno twirled her single braid into a bun and began to walk to the courts. Her mind wandered at the possibility of playing Aiko or even Tsuruga-senpai. It was such a strange sensation, the excitement that was coursing through her veins at the very idea of playing a challenging match. Did everyone who loved tennis feel this way? Aiko always told her that she got excited about strange things. Was this a strange thing? Sakuno sighed, hoping she wasn't off her game today.

BAM!

Sakuno fell back and looked up to see a tall figure watching her. He offered his hand to her and helped her up. "Sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," she explained laughing a little.

"Ryuzaki?"

"Eh…" It was Ryoma…she had run into Ryoma. "Hi… uh… Echizen… uh…san!" Sakuno slapped a hand to her forehead mentally, embarrassed out of her mind. Why had called him Echizen-san?! Since when had she ever done that! Stupid! Stupid!

He nodded at her. "You're going to practice?"

"Yep, today we find out who's in the regular shuffle!" She announced happily, falling out of her awkwardness. Sakuno was stoked to find out the line-up. In that moment it was like the years of separation had never passed by, but then again that was who Ryoma was; a boy who was never bothered by time or even seemed to notice it.

"Wh—

"Echizen!" Momoshiro's voice called. The junior jogged over to where the freshmen were standing and grinned. "Ah, renewing old love huh?" Ryoma replied with a glare and Sakuno awkwardly stood there, she needed to get to practice, but to leave suddenly would be rude, regardless of Momo's embarrassing comment. "Ryuzaki-chan! Congrats, I heard you made the shuffle!"

Sakuno felt her eyes widen. "I-I made it?"

Momo smiled at her, "Yep, Mai-chan told me in class today. Apparently Shiba-senpai had asked her opinion on it the other day."

Sakuno took off towards the courts to find out herself. Quickly, she glanced over her shoulder at the two boys she was leaving behind. "Bye Echizen-san! Bye Momo-chan!"

Ryoma watched her take off in a surprised daze. It was broken the moment Momo threw an arm around his neck. "She's gotten cute, eh?"

"Shut-up," Ryoma muttered and shoved Momo off. He had already considered this since he saw her in class, and didn't deny Momo's observation. Not like he would tell senpai , though.

* * *

**Comments/Concerns? Questions? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please review, I love feedback!**

**~Although maybe all these moments are just in my head  
I'll be thinking 'bout them as I'm lying in bed  
And all that I believe might never really come true  
But in my mind I'm havin' a pretty good time with you~**

**Noah and the Whale, 5 Years Time**

* * *

Aiko read the tournament placement for the regular shuffle that was posted at the entrance of girls' courts.

Group 1: Estuko, Hori, Isobe

Group 2: Tsuruga, Ito, Kunda

Group 3: Mashita, Shiba, Nagai

Group 4: Watari, Matoke, Morita

Group 5: Otomo, Nagai, Sassa

Group 6: Hiyama, Saromi, Uetake

Group 7: Ihara, Yasuda, Bando

Group 8: Ryuzaki, Genda, Fuwa

Group 9: Acheki, Hida, Eguchi

Aiko's eyes widened at the sight of her own name. Estuko…she was really on there. Shit. She was going to play matches today. Not full matches, they were both only one game each, but still. Shit. Carefully she backed up away from the sheet and walked over to Tomoka.

"Sakuno and I are in, but your name isn't up there…" she mumbled to the pigtailed girl. Tomoka frowned and then shrugged.

"Well, I can always challenge for a spot later."

"Uh, yeah…" Aiko replied trying to hide her eye roll. Normally Tomoka didn't erk her a lot, the audacity of the girl was beginning to ger annoying though.

"Attention!" a voice yelled. Aiko turned her head to see Coach Tabake calling out with his hand cupped around his mouth. Along with the rest of the girls Aiko turned towards him.

Coach Tabake was a sometimes eccentric, sometimes serious man with brown hair and a beard to match. "I'm sure all of you have checked the regular shuffle line-ups. For those not in the line-ups you'll be doing conditioning. 30 laps around the court, when you're finished you may leave. The twenty-seven others will be playing today. We have three courts, so we'll be playing three matches at a time. Players waiting for their group to go will ref. For sanity's sake we'll have three people watching the match, remember one game matches!" He let out a loud sigh, "Groups 1-3 playing, 4-6 warming up, and 7-9 to ref. Now get to it!"

Aiko said her goodbyes to Tomoka and jogged over to the court that was holding the matches for group one. One was tall with legs so long that Aiko felt shorter than usual and the other was tiny with broad muscles that made her look like maybe she had experimented with some steroids. Aiko nicknamed them in her head Legs and Roids. They both looked her up and down and smirked. "We'll let you choose Estuko-san, who do you want to play first?"

"How about you two play first? I'm a little nervous…" she lied.

The two girls looked at each other, back at her, and nodded. "Deal."

Legs and Roids went to their respective sides of the court and began to warm up. "You must be Estuko?" A voice asked. Aiko turned to see a tall tan girl, with sleek muscles, and broad shoulders.

"Yes, she replied. "Hori-senpai and Isobe-senpai said they'd play the first match."

"Alright than, I'm Ihara Chieko from group 7. I'll be referring the matches with Yasuda-san and Bando-san," she gestured to the other two girls who were standing on opposite of the courts by the baselines. "Good luck Estuko-san." The words came dryly from the girl's mouth, not rudely, just seriously.

"Alright. Hori-san, Isobe-san let's play," Ihara ordered. Yes, ordered. To Aiko it was clear who the most respected person on the court was at the moment.

"Which is which senpai?" Aiko questioned letting it slip out of her mouth before she could get a chance to stop it. Sometimes, well most of the time actually. Things just sort of came out before she could stop them.

The other girl smirked. "The tall one is Hori and the other one is Isobe. You're going to analyze them aren't you?"

"Yep."

"If they were smart they wouldn't have underestimated you," the older girl said pulling her brown hair into a higher ponytail. Aiko grinned a little to herself and watched as the first match took place.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno stood on the baseline were Fuwa-senpai had told her call from. Her excitement had dimmed a little the minute she had seen Fuwa's name on the sheet. The tall, blonde haired beauty was a good player. She was supposedly a shoe-in this year to be a regular because of her improvement from last year.

"Sakuno-chan?" A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face. She quickly looked up to see Tsuruga-senpai's gray eyes watching her oddly. "Are you ready to start?"

"Eh, sorry…yeah I am," she nodded and took a step back from the line. "Good luck Tsuruga-senpai!"

The gray eyed girl grinned and threw her dark brown braid over her shoulder. "Thanks kiddo…and remember, call me Mai-chan or Maiko-san at least. Stop being so formal, I thought we were friends!" She served the ball across the court.

Sakuno smiled a little as she watched Mai play. The older girl was somewhat of a mentor to her, she has helped Sakuno during eighth grade year to really find her own unique style of tennis. Mai won the match quickly and then moved on to the second girl. This girl appeared much more aggressive than the first, but stood about the same amount of a chance and lost. Their court was the first to finish their matches, only having to play two games total.

"You better go get warmed up Sakuno-chan," Mai muttered as she wiped her face with a towel. "God it's hot today."

"Uh, yes…" Sakuno answered and then she took off to find a wall where she could rally by herself. She needed to focus.

Mai watched her disappear and sighed, the girl needed to have more confidence. Group five took the court and she walked over to the line to call the match.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno wasn't sure how much time had passed. She found a quiet place near the water fountain and began hitting a ball. A ball. She hit single ball over and over again, forgetting the anxiety that was running through her veins.

"Hey Sakuno-chan!"

A slight pause in step and Sakuno missed the ball, with a sigh she turned to see Aiko standing there with her hand on her hip. "Come on, it's time for your match. Fuwa-senpai already beat Genda. You disappeared like an hour ago…we were starting to wonder if you just went home and gave up. You're lucky I found you."

"Ah, sorry Aiko-chan. I guess I just got distracted," Sakuno shrugged with a sigh.

Aiko walked up to her friend and smacked her shoulder, clamping her hand down. "Stop being stupid! Get some confidence and go kick Fuwa-senpai's ass!" She pushed Sakuno forward towards the gate. "Go on!" Sakuno paused in her step for a second, swallowed the lump that had been forming in her throat and walked to the courts with her chin up.

Aiko let out a huge breath after she left and rolled her eyes. "She's such an idiot."

"Aiko-chan, did your match already happen?" a voice asked. Aiko glanced over her shoulder to see the freshman trio, that Echizen guy, and Momoshiro walking towards her.

"Uh yeah, it was at the beginning of practice," she smiled rubbing the back of her head nervously.

Mizuno raised his eyebrows. "You lose?" She punched his arm with all the force she could muster. "Ow!"

"You idiot I won!" she snapped and walked away towards the courts. Technically it had been a very close game. One that she was very close to losing. She had beaten Hori with ease, but Isobe had proven a whole other challenge. The muscular girl hit one hell of a ball, Aiko was lucky Sakuno had suggested they lift weights over the summer or she doubted she would've been able to handle some of those strokes.

"Hey, Estuko wait up!" Mizuno called after her as he jogged to catch up.

"Is that Mizuno's girlfriend?" Ryoma asked blankly as the group continued to the fence at their own slow pace.

Kachiro shrugged. "Not really. They were in the same class last year, they're pretty close friends."

"I bet he likes her," Horio announced. "With my experience with wo—

"What woman?" Kachiro asked unfazed.

"Well..I—

"Exactly!" Kachiro retorted, shutting Horio up for the moment. The once quiet young boy who believed everything the more experienced friend had to say was gone, Kachiro rarely believed anything Horio mentioned anymore, unless he was talking about tennis because even if Horio was full of hot air, he knew tennis well enough.

"What are we waiting here for anyway?" Ryoma asked. "If your friend's match is done can't we go home or get some food?"

"I thought you'd want to see Ryuzaki's match," Momoshiro chuckled teasing the freshman. Though the once shorter boy was now his same height, so the teasing was less effective, looks like all that milk finally did something.

"Huh, I guess…" Ryoma mumbled indifferently. Though inside he was interested, really interested.

"Are you guys coming or what?" Aiko asked loudly yelling back at them. The guys walked over to where she was standing. Through the fence you could see Sakuno rallying with another girl.

"Wow, Fuwa-senpai got cuter," Momo mentioned eyeing the blonde with a grin.

"Shut-up Takashi-bozu," a voice snapped. The boy's looked over to see a dark haired brunette walking towards them. Ryoma felt like she looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. She was about average height with a slim figure and dim lit gray eyes.

"Mai?" Momo answered a little surprised. "What about your train?"

She shrugged and stood next to him, her arms crossed over her chest. "Can I sleep over at your house?"

"N-No."

With a teasing smirk she snickered. "Eh, I figured…I already asked Jun-chan. She said yes. I really wanted to see Sakuno-chan play today… Lucky the other matches ended early, Akechi and Ihara got pretty lucky with their match ups." She laced her fingers into the fence and leaned forward. "I wonder…if she'll be able to beat Fuwa."

"Wonder?" Aiko asked from the other side of the group. "Tsuruga-senpai didn't you help put the groups together."

"Yeah…why?"

"Wouldn't you want Sakuno to win?"

Mai arched an eyebrow and looked at her curiously. "I do, but I sure don't want it to be easy for her. If she's going to be a member of my team, she's going to need to be able to win."

"What about me!?" Aiko's indignant voice was curiously annoyed.

"I saw your match with Isobe, your footwork needs to be quicker. Normally you play a serve/volley style, but that entire match was at the baseline. Was that on purpose?"

"No, well yeah...the shots were coming too hard to rush the net."

"Work on it. I know you were scared of the power of the ball, but you need to build your form so you can take a ball down like that easily. You'll face a lot worse later, though I was impressed that you managed to realize your own inability to rush the net. You have a good sense of your own level, that's good" Mai replied steadily watching Sakuno's match unfold. Aiko frowned, Mai was all fun and then she suddenly switched. She became serious, studious, and focused. She flipped back and forth like a light switch.

"Sakuno got a point!" Kachiro cheered.

"Ah, freshman boy. I suggest you keep quiet, Coach Takabe…he gets angry when boys hang around our courts," Mai warned even though she was wearing a smile on her face. "Why are you guys outta practice so early anyway way? Nice hit Sakuno!" Sakuno had hit the ball just into the left back corner, completely out of Fuwa's reach.

"Why?"

"He doesn't want us to screw around. He wants us to focus on tennis." Mai replied shrugging. "That's all. If he sees you he'll make you run laps."

"Ah shit, that was a nice return…" Aiko commented. Fuwa had sliced a ball and sent it just over the net. Sakuno dove for it, but failed to get there in time. The score was 5-6, Fuwa.

Ryoma let out a breath and checked his phone for the time. "I'm going home." He began to walk away from the group towards the school gate.

"Hey Echizen, don't you want to see if Ryuzaki wins?" Momo called after him.

Ryoma pulled down his cap, "If it's her…she'll win." Mai let out a huff, he sounded just like his brother.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno always felt comfortable at the baseline. You could see everything and you had time to react. It was her comfort zone to play there. Aiko said her style was a machine baseliner, someone who never got tired and was a steady player, making their opponent run the court. Sakuno had never really thought of it like that, but she did enjoy the rhythm of the steady hit which was why she stayed at the baseline.

When Fuwa started ruining Sakuno's pace she knew she was in trouble. The match was still close though and if she could just control the pace again she could win. All she needed was an opening. But where was the opening?

Fuwa shuffled right to return a ball and for a split second Sakuno saw an opening. On her right side her knee went a little too far down and she didn't jump out from it right away. One solid volley would get her the point. Actually volleying could completely destroy Fuwa's pace. The blonde girl hit a lob and Sakuno rushed the net volleying it down. The point was given and she finally had the advantage. All she needed was one more game. And she finally knew what she had to do.

Fuwa served the ball and after a quick return Sakuno rushed the net freely. She smacked down every single ball Fuwa sent her way. Slowly she tired the other girl out and won the game. When the match was announced, Sakuno's chest swelled with pride. She had won. She had actually won. She was going to be a regular.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno walked happily to the gate. She had won. Of course, that meant practice tomorrow was going to be more intense than ever, but still she had completed a goal; a goal that since the beginning of summer seemed impossible.

Aiko had walked home with the Mizuno and Kato, they lived more in the direction of her house. Mai had disappeared after the match, but she apparently was a little disappointed in Sakuno at least that's what Momo had said though he wasn't sure why she would be. Sakuno wasn't too shocked at the news though, Mai had always been the type with high standards for people she believed in. And too be honest the fact that Mai even believed in her was enough at the moment.

As she walked past the gate a familiar figure took stride next to her. "Echizen-san, why are you here? Everyone said you went home." Ah, there she said it again. Echizen-san, god she needed to stop being so awkward around him. It wasn't like she was in middle school with a crush on him anymore. Or was it? No…No it wasn't…right?

"I was on my way, but then I started feeling bad because a girl shouldn't be walking home alone," he explained nonchalantly.

Sakuno smiled, "Thanks Ryoma-kun."

"That sounds better…" he mumbled.

"What was that?" Sakuno asked, it sounded like he had said something.

"Nothing…" He mumbled. "When does your practice normally end?"

Sakuno shrugged as they walked. "The same time as yours."

"I'll meet you by the gate than so we can walk together. Like I said it's dangerous for a girl to walk home alone these days," Ryoma said calmly. They walked in silence and Sakuno noticed the sun was setting. She smiled.

"Just like old times, huh Ryoma-kun?"

**~xXx~**

Mai leaned against the lockers watching her vice-captain and captain converse with vague interest. Vice-captain Watari was tall, lanky, and could've looked like a model. She had sharp features that were enhanced with black hair cut in a pixie style and several ear piercings, she looked like a punk. She noticed Mai staring at her and gave her a nod.

"What the hell you waiting around for Tsuruga-san?" Watari asked sharply. Her attitude could also make her seem like a punk at times, Mai had learned.

"I just wanted to see if you'd admit I was right Watari-senpai," Mai smirked.

"About what?"

"I believe she's speaking regarding the freshmen girls, Ryuzaki and Estuko," the other girl spoke. Despite being captain of the team her air was completely different from that of her vice. She had a fragile long figure, she has a soft to her vice-captain's sharp.

"Captain Shiba, you know I was right, right?" Mai grinned.

Captain Shiba twirled a strand of her dark blue hair around her finger and shrugged. "They have a lot to work on Mai-chan, though I think it's good we have them on the team. We need to be able to build for the future."

Mai didn't back off. She wanted to hear them say it. She continued to chide, "So I was correct in my suggestion?"

"Fine, Tsuruga you were right!" Watari yelled with a loud sigh. Mai tossed up the peace sign and walked out of the room with a grin.

"What a freaking idiot," Watari sighed deeply.

Shiba laughed. "I think she's cute."

"God you're weird Fumiko-san," Watari replied. "So I'll go turn in the club member form this weekend. What's the regular line-up looking like?"

Shiba handed her a sheet of paper and smiled. "That's the final list we have."

**3rd Year Shiba Fumiko**

**3rd Year Watari Machi**

**3rd Year Hiyama Kairi**

**3rd Year Otomo Junko**

**2nd Year Tsuruga Maiko**

**2nd Year Ihara Chieko**

**2nd Year Acheki Izuma**

**1st Year Estuko Aiko**

**1st Year Ryuzaki Sakuno**

* * *

**-san: **The suffix -san is can be equated to our own use of Mr., Mrs., or Miss. It is the all-purpose honorific to use, as it can be appropriately attached to the names of new or old aquaintances. If you were to go into our own "Introduction" forum, you could tag this suffix onto a newcomers name just as easily as you could with a forum user you've known a long time but never became friends or familiar with. This suffix does not imply intimacy.

**-kun: **This suffix is typically used with young boys and is used to emote familiarity, but can also be used among grown men for the same reason. It is a less stuffy alternative to -san.

**-bozu:** Typically used with young boys (also as a title, "bozu", instead of a suffix), -bozu is the rough equivalent of saying "kiddo", "squirt", or even a playful use of the word "brat".

**-senpai: **This suffix is used to refer to someone of a higher social station within a group or organization (like school or even the workplace).

**Leave me a review...it'd be much appreicated! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

** ~Guess, I'm wishing my life away**  
**With these things I'll never say**  
**These things I'll never say~**

**-Things I'll Never Say, Avril Lavigne**

* * *

Sakuno was shuffling left and right as the balls came. Back and forth, steadily she moved. It was the last drill of the day, the final repetition. A girl with short brown hair tied into a ponytail at the nap of her neck sat at the center of the net throwing low balls from side to side, matching Sakuno's rhythm. Suddenly a loud whistle was blown and Sakuno returned the very last ball.

She heaved a few breaths as the girl jogged up to her holding a bottle of water. "Here Ryuzaki-san," she smiled. "We better pick up the balls quickly, Watari-senpai said to hurry and meet in front of the club room after the last rotation."

Sakuno nodded and placed the bottle on the ground. "Right Akechi-senpai, I'll get the other half of the court." She jogged over and quickly began to scoop balls onto her racket.

"Ryuzaki-san, its fine if you just use –san, I've never really liked the whole senpai thing. I fell like it sounds strange after my name," Akechi called after her.

"Yes Akechi-san," Sakuno replied with a smile.

Akechi was one of the more sociable girls on the team. She was short too, really short, shorter than Aiko short. Still she managed to get along with everyone and was really easy to talk too. Sakuno was pretty happy that she had gotten the small girl as a training partner today rather than Akechi's doubles partner Ihara, who was a serious, quiet girl. Sakuno had been partners with Ihara yesterday and it was one of the most uncomfortable experiences she had on the court. Sakuno recalled that Aiko was partnered with her today... The thought had Sakuno muttering to herself, "I wonder how it went?"

They put the balls in the basket and ran over to the club room where the other regulars were waiting. Watari stood there with Shiba and Coach Takabe at her sides. Shiba was a quiet captain, much different than the middle school captain had been, but Watari made up for it with a fiery attitude and a loud voice. Sakuno found her place next to Aiko, who stretched a wide smile across her face.

"What's with that look?" Sakuno asked her friend curiously.

"We're giving measurements for our regular jackets!"

Sakuno grinned back. Getting the jacket was always an exciting part of making the regulars. Though she hadn't made the regular team in middle school until ninth grade, the moment she received that jacket she felt like she had accomplished an incredible goal. She was already beginning to feel that excitement again.

Watari was pointing and counting aloud as the the rest of the team came. There appeared to be missing someone. "Where's Otomo?" She questioned the group of girls in front of her.

"Jun-chan went to the fountain after the last rotation. We ran out of water," Mai answered with a shrug.

"Whatever, she's a senior…I'll just start," Watari mumbled sighing. "Please get in line from smallest to largest."

As the group lined up Sakuno found herself between a curly haired girl and Mai in the line. Aiko was the second shortest on the team, taller than Acheki, but smaller than the girl next to Sakuno. Mai was tall, about the same height as Shiba who was smaller Ihara who was smaller than Machi who was at the end of the line. Coach Takabe went from shortest to tallest asking for measurements.

"You're Ryuzaki right?" the curly haired girl asked. "We haven't been formally introduced, I'm Hiyama Kairi. Please call me Kairi-san, we are a team after all."

"It's nice to meet you Kairi-san," Sakuno answered politely. Coach Takabe came by and took their measurements.

"Where's Otomo, she should be back by now?" he mumbled to himself.

"Coach, sorry I am late," a voice said. Sakuno looked over to see who it was, she had never seen Otomo before, she'd heard a little bit about her from Mai, but that was it. Mai had said she was a studious and kind girl. Otomo looked nothing like she had pictured. She had beautiful green eyes and a full figure, though she was a little on the larger side. Her black hair was cleanly cut and in a short ponytail.

"It's fine Otomo-san, just give me your measurements." He took them down and grinned. "Alright kiddos, now who's going to deliver these today." Quickly the girls began to yammer excuses.

"I have to catch the train for dance practice," Mai muttered the excuse bolting away.

"I have a date!" Hiyama yelled jogging off.

"I have to prepare for my debate," Otomo shrugged and walked off.

"Izuma and I are looking for jobs today," Ihara mumbled grabbing Akechi's arm and pulling her off.

Shiba smiled, "Fuji-san and I are going to take pictures in the city today. Sorry coach."

"I have to watch my younger siblings," Machi shrugged. "Next time coach."

Aiko was the first of the freshman to catch on. "I have to—

"No, no, no…you two are going to deliver this today. The address is on the top. Good luck!" He jogged off before they could reply.

Aiko rubbed the back of her head in annoyance. "What a peculiar guy…Well we better get going Sakuno-chan."

Sakuno sighed. She was going to walk home with Ryoma. Sure they had walked home every day together for the past two weeks, but still…it was one of her favorite parts of the day. They grabbed their bags from the club room and walked to the front gate. Ryoma was waiting with Kachiro, Mizuno, Horio, and Tomoka, leaning against the gate.

"We can't go with you guys today," Aiko explained as they approached. "We got roped into turning in our form for the club jackets."

"Man, we wasted time waiting for you guys…" Horio mumbled. Tomoka smacked the back of his head.

"I'll come along," Tomoka announced. "I have to pick up something from that area anyway, my brother's birthday is coming up." She looked at the boys. "What about you guys? Don't tell you me have plans…?"

"I have important things to do," Horio replied haughtily. He took, by himself down the street.

"I have to get home, we're having a family dinner…" Mizuno said, slightly embarrassed.

"I'll come," Kachio shrugged. "I really don't have anything better to do. What about you Echizen?"

"Yeah, I guess I'll come…" he replied with disinterest. "The street courts are over there right?"

"Yep," Sakuno chirped. Ryoma was coming!

"Let's go already people!" Aiko groaned. Sakuno could see Aiko peak over her shoulder at Mizuno, watching him walk off.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno handed the man the order form with a heavy sigh. She was alone, why? Because she was a nice person, sometimes too nice of a person really. They had ditched her for the street courts. The jerks! She walked off to the courts at a slow pace, maybe if she took long enough they'd feel guilty for letting her go off alone.

The street courts were around this area, were big. There were at least 10 individual courts, ready for anyone and everyone to use. And boy did they, the courts were a frequent place for tennis players. Middle school or high school, everyone came by to play on them. Of course, the schools that were seen most were the ones that lived closely by, Fudomine, Yamabuki, Saint Rudolf, and Seigaku. Hoyeti was actually not that far away, but most of them stayed at their own courts.

Sakuno walked over to the soda machine and put in her change. All that walking had made her thirsty. She felt someone tap her shoulder, she glanced back to see a handsome boy with dark hair.

"Hello," he smiled offering his hand. "I just couldn't resist introducing myself to someone like you."

"Ah," Sakuno felt the noise escape her mouth in shock, but she recovered and smiled shaking his hand. "Hi."

"So, you come here often?" he asked. He looked really familiar this guy, whoever he was.

"Uh, not really…I came here with some friends," she answered nervously. He was a little too close at the moment, it was almost like he was inspecting her.

"You go to Seigaku right? I could tell by your uniform. So you know Echizen Ryoma?"

Why did he want to know about Ryoma…Stupid Sakuno! He probably just wanted to know if you knew Ryoma so he could challenge him. And she thought he was actually hitting on her. "Yeah I do, actually—

"Hey, what are you doing?" a voice asked. A very, very familiar voice. Sakuno twisted her head to Ryoma standing there, hands in his pockets.

The guy who'd been talking to her grinned. "I just wanted to see how my little brother was doing, so I decided to ask your cute friend."

Ryoma looked from Sakuno to his brother then sighed. "Ryuzaki-san this is my brother Echizen Ryoga."

"Nice to meet you," Sakuno sighed in relief, appreciating the space Ryoga gave her when he took a step back. Now that she thought about it, she might have meant Echizen Ryoga before. Of course, he didn't seem like the type to remember someone like her. Actually, she was surprised Ryoma even introduced his brother to her, he had never been the type to be so cordial.

"Everyone else is over by court C," Ryoma mentioned and Sakuno got the feeling he wanted her to leave.

"Right, I'll go now…it was nice meeting you Ryoga-san!" Sakuno said before taking off.

"She's cute Ryoma," Ryoga said smirking at his little brother. "I like her."

"What are you talking about?"

"God, if Dad heard you talking he'd ask if you were even a man. Don't you notice women?"

Ryoma frowned. "Yeah."

"Don't you notice _her_?" Ryoga probed, trying to get something out of his brother.

"She's cute," he replied.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing…I'm going back to my friends."

Ryoga let out a sigh, "Stupid kid."

**~xXx~**

Somehow, the group ended up in the back of Ryoga's car. Tomoka took one look at him and immediately began to flirt. She ended up procuring a ride home from him. After dropping off Kachiro and Tomoka, the car got silent, especially after Tomoka left.

"So…Ryoga-san, where do you attend college?"

"Tokyo University," he replied indifferently.

"Aye, did you go to high school here?" Aiko asked suddenly.

"Yeah. Do I turn here?"

"Yeah, did you go to Seigaku High?" She pestered. Sakuno looked at her friend trying to tell her not to be rude, but Aiko just shrugged.

"Yeah, why?"

"No reason," Aiko muttered. Sakuno gave her a curious look, but once again Aiko just shrugged. "And…that is my house. Thanks Echizen-san." She hopped out of the car and jogged into her house.

Sakuno glanced at the car clock, it was getting pretty late. "I hope Aiko-chan doesn't get in trouble…"

"What?" Ryoma asked from the passenger seat. He hadn't really heard anything she had said.

"Aiko has a really strict, old-fashioned family. If she's late by even a second she'll be grounded for a month," Sakuno explained sighing. "Maybe I should've just delivered the form on my own so she could've gotten home on time. I didn't mean to trouble her so much."

"Stop worrying about everyone so much Ryuzaki," Ryoma mumbled.

He was right. Aiko wasn't the type to blame others and if Sakuno did cause her any trouble Aiko would've definitely mentioned it. Sakuno smiled as the car pulled up to her house. "You're right, thanks Ryoma-kun. And that you Echizen-san for the ride." She got out of the car and walked to her house.

The minute the door shut Ryoga was laughing; his eyes completely off the road while they pulled away. Ryoma hit his brother on the shoulder. "Watch the road!"

Ryoga chuckled and refocused. "I like your crush Ryo-chan. If you don't make your move soon you'll lose her."

Ryoma scowled at his brother. "I don't have a crush on Ryuzaki."

"Your loss I suppose," Ryoga mused. "What are you going to do when she falls for another guy?"

Ryoma frowned, his brow furrowed. "It won't bother me. We're just friends after all."

"You're in denial."

Was he, Ryoma wondered. He had never actually thought about Ryuzaki dating anyone, because it never really mattered to him before. Though the more he thought about it the more kind of bothered him. Did it bother him? Maybe he was thinking about it too much. Probably. He surely did not like Ryuzaki.

* * *

**So, comments/concerns? Sorry about the pace, but I'm doing some groundwork for the rest of the story. I promise it'll pick up eventually. I'll also try to update faster, but no promises. Hopefully I'll time in the summer!**


	4. Chapter 4

**~Wise men say only fools rush in  
But I can't help falling in love with you~**

**~Can't Help Falling In Love, Ingrid Michaelson**

* * *

"Mai-chan, what'd you get for number six?" Momo whispered. Mai, who was sitting next to him, had finished the problems their teacher had assigned and was fiddling with her hair. She glanced over at him and sighed.

"-7.21."

Momo looked over at his problem, scanning it for some error. "No, there's no way you're right."

"Did you remember to write the negative sign at the beginning of the problem?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Ye—No…" He wrote it in and repeated the entire process. Five minutes later he mumbled, "Thanks."

Mai nodded and began humming a tune. Suddenly the bell rang, it was lunch. Mai pulled out her sandwich and began nibbling at it. Momo sighed, "Something's wrong huh?"

"Not really…" she muttered.

"Mai…"

"Takashi, how's everything going with An-chan?" she asked quickly perking up and changing the subject. She stared at him while she took a bite of her sandwich, chewing slowly.

Momo could feel the heat rise to his face. "Fine, you haven't told anyone right?"

"Who would I tell? I have two close friends in this school, you and Jun. Jun isn't even our grade," she replied sarcastically.

"I don't know, maybe one of those Rikkai Dai guys. You talk to them a lot. If they found out…I bet Akaya would blow up."

"Do not. I just live near them and our lives happen to intersect sometimes," she snapped.

"How's your love life? I mean you and Ni—

"We aren't talking currently."

Momo rolled his eyes. "You two have been on and off since tenth grade, when are you just going to drop it."

"When you stop asking questions like a girl," she retorted. She looked away and rested her head on crossed arms. "Why can't I have more friends?!"

Momo let out a loud breath and turned around to talk to some other people. Mai was being dramatic and depressed today, she got that way every once in a while. She's was wrong about the friends thing though, she was actually well liked in the school. She had even been voted the class representative of 2-1, though she had dreaded the idea of being picked.

"Hey Momo-chan," a voice called. Momo looked behind him away from his friends. A girl with black hair, brown eyes, and curvy figure walked up to his desk.

"Miyazaki-san, what's up?" he asked smiling. Miyazaki was a cute girl, they had been in the same class last year 1-2.

"You know Echizen Ryoma right?" she questioned quickly.

"Yeah, we're on the same team," Momo replied slowly. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "You're interested in him Miyazaki-san?"

Her face went red. "Well…I am and I was wondering…should I ask him on a date? I mean I did before at the beginning of the year, he had said no, and I know Distracts is next week…"

"Go for it, I mean the worst thing that could happen is he might say no," Momo encouraged with a grin. It might be good if the kid went on a date sometime. After all school had started a month ago and Echizen hadn't even begun to make a move of Ryuzaki.

Her face lit up. "You're right. Thanks Momo-chan, I'm going to ask right now!" She walked off with a new spring in her step. Momo felt like he did something positive.

"Are you stupid?" Mai asked from her seat next to him. "You're pretty much driving a rock in-between all the work we've done!"

Momo stared at his friend wide eyed in shock. "What are you talking about?!"

"Sakuno and Echizen are just beginning to rekindle their relationship!"

Momo sighed, "Mai-chan, we were being delusional. There was nothing between them to begin with, they're just friends. Them dating, would be like me and you dating."

She hit him in the shoulder. "You are such an idoit! Have a little hope." Stupid Momo, she thought, was he so oblivious.

**~xXx~**

Sakuno sat next to Aiko in Ryoma's seat. They were discussing the lineup for the upcoming District matches, they were up against Yamabuki first. It was going to be a difficult beginning. Yamabuki was always a solid team and seemed to have secret weapons hiding everywhere. Ryoma was sitting with the freshmen trio at Sakuno's desk.

"I wonder if we're going to be playing," Aiko huffed. "I mean, only seven people are on the immediate roster. After all, Ihara and Akechi are going to be doubles 1, Tsuruga will be in a singles spot, and I'm not sure that's we'll be in the running."

"Maybe we'll get to play doubles together," Sakuno said positively.

"Echizen-san?"

The two girls looked towards the sound of the voice on instinct. A pretty girl with long black hair was standing at the doorway glancing nervously in. "Miyazaki-senpai?" Ryoma's voice responded.

"Can I talk to you?" the girl asked nervously, noticing the amount of attention she was drawing.

Ryoma got out of his seat and nodded. He walked out of the classroom. Sakuno heard someone whisper behind her. "Miyazaki-senpai is going to ask Echizen out again? She's really brave."

Sakuno watched the door with anticipation. Aiko chuckled, "Maybe you should ask him out yourself. I bet he'd say yes."

The brown haired girl frowned. "No way, he wouldn't. He only thinks of me as a friend."

"You guys hang out all the time though," Aiko argued.

"Yeah, but only as friends…" Sakuno mumbled. They did hang out a lot lately though, she figured it was because she was conveniently located for him. They went to the street courts a lot, sometimes he did extra training with her (if she asked), and they went to a movie once. She had already decided she was not going to have any feelings for Ryoma beside friendship. It was safer that way.

"Didn't you guys write letters to each other for months?"

"Yeah, but one day…he just never wrote back," she sighed. Ryoma walked back room. Miyazaki didn't follow, it seemed she got rejected once again. Despite everything she had just said Sakuno felt herself relax a little and release a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

**~xXx~**

"Don't forget to be at the courts at 7:00am to check in," Captain Shiba reminded the regulars as they were dismissed after practice.

"Ryuzaki! Estuko!" Akechi yelled, "We're all going to get a burger. Do you guys want to come?" The rest of the regulars were around her, talking amongst themselves. Sakuno noted that Mai wasn't with them, she must have already gone home.

Aiko looked at her friend questioningly. "So? You want to go?"

"I really need to study for the English quiz tomorrow, my grade is really beginning to drop. My grandma will get angry if it continues," Sakuno replied with a sigh. Aiko looked a little dismayed. "Aiko-chan, you should go with them. Ryoma should be waiting for me by the gate anyway, that way I won't be walking home alone, so you don't have to worry."

Aiko smiled, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do Sakuno-chan." She gave her friend a wink and took off with the other girls.

Sakuno sighed and walked to the gate. She wondered if Ryoma would mention what Miyazaki-senpai wanted with him. Probably not, he wasn't much of a talker especially when it came to personal things. She could normally get him to talk if she brought up tennis though. Ryoma would always talk if it was about tennis.

As she approached the gate she saw two figures, one she could make out as Ryoma. The other was a slender female with long black hair. She stuttered her step as she got closer, not wanting to intrude then she continued walking. She always walked home with Ryoma, she wasn't about to let that change because he suddenly had girl around him. When Sakuno thought about it Ryoma always had a girl around him, because girls were obsessed with him. As she reached them she stopped a few feet away because they seemed to be in a deep discussion.

"I told you Miyazuki-senpai, I'll decide when and if this happens. I need some time to think about it. I already told you, I'll definitely have an answer for you by the end of Distracts, next week," Ryoma snapped.

The girl sighed, but she didn't get upset. "Please call me Ikue, that's my first name. I'd really appreciate it Ryoma-kun. I'll see you tomorrow." She glanced at Sakuno over her shoulder for a brief second, noticing she had been standing there and then waved goodbye, walking away.

Ryoma scratched the back of his head, closed his eyes, and let out a deep breath. One eye sprang open as Sakuno took a few steps closer. "Ryuzaki-san, I hadn't noticed you were there."

"Eh, Ryoma-kun…are you ready to go?" she asked. She had already mentally decided not to ask him about what had happened. She didn't want to infringe.

"Yeah," he mumbled and they began walking.

The walked in silence. Which normally didn't bother Sakuno, but today it did. It wasn't the normal silence that settled between them; a comfortable silence that was simply there because they were both quiet people. No. It was a disturbing silence, one of the ones where it was clear one of them wanted to talk, but at the same time didn't know what to say.

"She just keeps bugging me," Ryoma said suddenly. It startled Sakuno, she looked up him confusion. He kept talking though, almost to himself. "She asked me to go out with her at the beginning of the year. I said no. Now she's asking me again. I guess she's kind of pretty…"

"Miyazuki-senpai seems like a nice person. Mai-chan told me she was smart too," Sakuno said brightly. _What am I saying!? He doesn't care about my opinion on this love life, we're just friends._

Ryoma stared at her for a while and nodded. "She's pretty nice, she made a bento a couple of times. It was alright." He paused. "All the guys on the team tease me about her because she's always watching our practices. They think she's really pretty too."

"What do you think Ryoma-kun?"

"Like I said, she's kind of pretty," he muttered.

Sakuno sighed, it was becoming clear he was getting uncomfortable. "Are you excited for Districts this weekend? You guys are playing Fudomine first right?"

"Yeah, and you guys play Yamabuki. Do you think you'll play?"

"I hope so, why do you ask?" Sakuno smiled happily.

He smirked and pulled down the brim of his hat. "I want to see you play in a real match Ryuzaki-san." Sakuno felt her face get red and a smile spread out across it.

"I hope I get to see you play, Ryoma-kun, it's been awhile." At that moment they reached her house. She waved goodbye to the tennis prince and walked inside.

After she disappeared Ryoma let out a deep breath. Sakuno was denser than she used to be. He wanted her to ask him to do something, he wanted her to be like she use to hanging around him all the time. He secretly missed her presence, though he was happy she had fallen in tennis. It finally gave him something to talk about with her. He wasn't that great at making conversation about other things when he didn't know the person that well. He wished he knew Sakuno well enough to be able to do that.

Ryoma walked into the house and plopped on the couch, closing his eyes. His dad was sitting on the recliner reading a magazine Ryoma bet he shouldn't be. By that observation it was clear his mother and Nanako were not home.

"Hey chibisuke, want to play a match?" Nanjiro asked, lifting up his head to look at his son.

Ryoma flipped around on the couch so his back faced his father. "No." It was at the moment Nanjiro decided something was wrong with his son. He had a feeling it had to do with girls.

* * *

**Please review and such! Get ready for a little SakunoXRyoma next chapter! FINALLY!**

**I wonder if you guys got the song lyrics connection on this one? Haha, I thought it fit perfectly. **


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